Why's it always a fantasy setting in isekais?
by Dr. Urist
Summary: "I might not watch a lot of them, but even I know that these kinds of stories are always about finding a way back from a world of dragons and stuff." In a world of dragons and stuff, Yuigahama's been surviving. Now she needs to find how to go beyond that. Multiple POVs.


I twisted my body and brought my leg up in a long, sweeping kick. My foot connected and with a loud crack, I launched the large, flying branch away from me in a wide arc. Without being given a second to breath, I had to bring the blade of my sword up to block a swipe from a spiked vine. It crashed into me, pain lancing up my arms. Gritting my teeth, I shoved the vine off to my side and sliced it in two.

Ok... next time, just step to the right a bit. Got it, Yui? Good.

Pain exploded in my back. I rolled in the dirt, the world spinning in my eyes. I stretched my arm out to stop and hastily got back on my knees. Slashing blindly, I managed to knock aside another vine aimed at my side. The rustling of the forest got worse. I shakily got back on my feet and shifted into a defensive stance.

It seemed like I was ok? You know, besides the whole angry forest thing. This breastplate I was wearing seemed to be doing its job.

Three vines shot their way towards me. I sidestepped one and cleanly sliced the other two. A heartbeat later I ducked underneath the sweeping arc of a vine and used the momentum of my movement to cut another large branch that was flying towards my face.

I heard muffled yelling and bushes being pushed away. I barked out a brief shout as I continued to carve plants into shreds.

"Yui!? Is that you!? This gods-be-damned forest is shifting all around me and I swear I will smash every single stupid piece of wooden furniture! You hear me you twisted forest spirit!? You are the _sole_ reason why this dwa-"

"Garres! Not the time!"

He ran out of the bush frantically with his hammer held high up in the air. There were bits of leaves and sticks caught in his big, bushy red beard. He looked every part the picture of a crazed dwarf that you could imagine.

I stepped closer to the armored, hammerdwarf until we were back to back. The head of his hammer was covered with sap with leaves sticking on it and the rest of him didn't look any better, really. On the other hand, at least he was well enough to complain.

"Between the two of us we can cover each other's backs, but we need to find Alma," I spoke in an even tone, not betraying how tired I was feeling. Garres groaned in dismay.

The sound of a bow's twang reached my ears just as three arrows struck three vines that had shot out towards us.

"Don't fret, my darlings, she's here~!"

From the bushes came a songlike voice. Leaping out of them was a bright red blur that flipped through the air. Landing with a twirl, Alma posed with exaggerated grace. With one smooth motion she reached for an arrow, used it to flick her short blonde hair playfully, and stabbed a vine that attacked from her side.

"Beset, on all sides, don't fear~!"

"Stop your damn prosing and figure out where this blasted tree is!"

"That's not the right word you know."

"Just do something dammit!"

I shoved Garres away as even more vines lashed out towards him. Bracing against them, I shot a smile to the half-elven woman.

"Good, you're ok. Alma, could you please help us out here?"

"At your command, brave Sir Yuigahama."

Ahaha. Yeah, I'm laughing cause that's funny.

* * *

Uwah. Towns are the best. No need for somebody on watch. Good food on a table. People to talk too. And maybe best of all, no angry tree monsters with vines! Though I guess nobody here needs to worry about that anymore, hehe.

Thrusting my mug forwards, I shouted, "Go team!"

"Go team!" "Hey watch the cups!"

Alma's mug clashed with mine, splashing a wave of ale over the top and onto the table. Garres's eyebrows twitched angrily as he watched us grinning at each other. Slamming her mug down on the table (sending over even more ale) Alma snaked her way over to Garres and wrapped an arm over his shoulders.

"Boo, don't be such a bore. Aren't dwarves a race of boisterous, alcohol loving, shorties? Oh come on, don't make that face. I know that's just a stereotype."

"I spent hours cleaning a sticky mess of my clothes, so I'm not sorry for being such a bore about you making a mess of them again! And you don't get to make a face either, everybody here knows exactly what we're talking about!"

"Oh I'm sure everybody knows about your proclivities with how loud you yell."

"I am going to smash you twenty yards into the earth, half-elf!"

"I suppose that _is_ where dwarves would go to do it."

I smiled into my cup as the two bickered with each other. Sure, helping people with their problems was nice. And sure, so is the bag of coin we get as payment. But the celebration, the nice cozy atmosphere after a job well done? That will always be my favorite part of doing this. Both here in this bizarre fantasy world and back home.

"_Eh, what's this all about?" Hikki stared at the cup in front of him like he didn't understand what it was._

"_It's a Christmas present!" "It's quite a waste if only a single person was using paper cups."_

_Ehehe, I guess that's what Yukinon would say. Guess it's up to me to actually explain it._

"_We both bought it for you! I picked the shape and Yukinon picked the design!" _

"_Wait, you said present, but I didn't prepare anything myself…" Hikki scratched his cheek apologetically. Of course that's what Hikki would say, always treating others better than he treats himself._

"_You don't have to worry about it. It's just replacing the paper cups."_

_Eh? Yukinon noooo. We should be honest about things now, right? Hikki seemed to understand though, his eyes widening. Looking down at our gift, he muttered a quiet thank you while giving a small but genuine smile. _

_I felt an intense heat bubbling in my chest, my heart beating like I'd just run a sprint. The warmth was making me tingle from head to toe and I couldn't resist the wonderful urge to smile at him._

"_You're welcome!"_

...Is this what people mean when something is bittersweet? The taste of sweet memories mixed with bitter drink? Yuck, stick to one taste or don't even bother.

"Wow! Garrus, look at her downing that cup! Quick! Drink for your dwarven pride!"

* * *

The sun was bright, the birds were chirping, and I'm sure somebody out there absolutely hated that. Me though? Totally loving it. Love the sun and love the absolutely killer constitution my body has. Hangovers? Never once!

After yesterday's shenanigans, Alma was doubled over with her head buried in her arms. Garrus had the courtesy of keeping his voice, and his laughter, low around her as he leaned in to speak with me.

"I take it that the plan's to head over to the next town and slay all the local monsters again?"

"Yep. Everything here has been handled, so there's no reason to sta-"

"Point of contention!" Alma exploded in energy, suddenly raising her voice and hand in the air.

"Me! Due to my present state, I propose that... I propose..." And just as quickly as she rose, she slumped over and lost her energy. Like a human firework, brief and fleeting. No, a half-elf firework. Wait, do they have fireworks here?

"Excuse me, Sir Yuigahama?" Turning to my side, I saw the innkeeper. He was nervous. Like, _super _nervous. A bead of sweat was rolling its way down his neck, his hands bunched the thick apron he was wearing, and his eyes were darting all over the place. "There's somebody out in front that wants to talk with you. Came with a gift too."

I sat a little straighter and tried to slowly arch an eyebrow elegantly.

"Oh? If somebody wants something from me, then they should have the decency to come in and approach me themselves."

This thing sounded seriously fishy. Like hot, humid, fish market fishy.

"They can't. The gift is... too big to go through my door."

Oh. I stood up and craned my neck to look through a window.

_P-pecs!_

I shut my eyes and looked away from the beautifully chiseled muscl- from the tall and horribly underdressed man by the entrance. Doesn't he know that the world is dangerous!? This is no place to be decked out in thin layers of silk and jewelry, I'm not even a thief but even I can't help thinking about ripping those -no Yui STOP!

"Hey, what's the deal? What'd you see? Your face is pinker than your hair." Garrus just stared at me, unable to stand tall enough to look out the high window. Suddenly he stood up a bit straighter like he was suddenly struck with an idea.

"No, don't tell me." His eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"It's a hot guy."

Fuck. Not suspicion, _glee_.

I took a breath and looked back out the window. Besides the man was...

A horse?

"Wait, you've got a thing for horses?"

"What? No! The gift!" I turned back to the innkeeper. "He's giving us a horse!?"

"Well, yeah I suppose. But before yo-"

"Garres, come on! Alma, you just uh-" I looked at the innkeep, "Could you watch over her for now? We'll pay you for that, thanks!"

I grabbed Garres and dragged him quickly to the door.

A horse! Something to make traveling so much faster! I can go somewhere while sitting down! Not to mention, it's an actual horse! I remember Yukinon mentioning to me that she rode a horse before!

I stopped. Garres bumped into my back and nearly bounced onto the floor. He rubbed his face and glowered at me. While he looked at me like I'd gone mad, which I admittedly did, he gruffly made a show off patting dust off his clothes.

Right. Yui, you're calm, cool, and collected. Be like Yukinon. Go out there like you have a reputation to uphold! Wait no, I do have one to uphold! With measured steps, I opened the door.

I marched through the pouring light and approached the stranger. Somehow it was as if the light glowed around him as he stood in perfectly balanced ease. His arms flowed in a graceful movement, the light shimmering as it reflected the sunlight. Dammit, where's composure! How could somebody be this hot!?

Oh wow, he's bowing to me.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Yuigahama. I am here on behalf of my master, Saranto, the Emerald Healer who leads the Unyielding March of Ten Thousand Feet."

Woah. Garres and I shared a glance that said something along the lines of, *Hey hold on. This sounds serious.*

"Uh. Yeah, it's our pleasure too."

"Right, real pleasure. And I'm Garres Stonebreaker."

"Ah. Greetings, Sir Garres. I apologize for my rudeness."

"Don't call me Sir anything, I ain't a bloody knight."

I mean, it's not like I was a knight either.

"My apologies, Garrus. But please, we should not dally with pleasantries. My master extends an invitation, and in exchange we would give you this horse along with three hundred gold coins."

Th-thr-three hundred?! That's like, way more than we got for the angry trees! Three hundred divided by twenty, ten left over...

"Oi, listen buddy. You haven't even given us your own damn name and you expect us to follow you heaven knows where, for heaven knows how long, to some lord we ain't ever heard of before, all for only three hundred gold and one random horse? Absolutely unacceptable, ain't that right Yui?"

"R-right! You need to do more than that. And for that matter, there's three of us anyways. A single horse is useless for us!"

I tried to watch Garrus from the sides of my vision to see if I was bargaining correctly, but the way the servant chuckled, the pearly white teeth of his smile...

Guh, all of it was too much. I am not gonna let myself be swayed by some random guy's smile.

"Again, I must apologize. We were unaware that Sir Yuigahama traveled with companions and so we did not prepare an adequate payment. Three hundred gold shall be given to each of your party, including the three hundred for your missing companion. As for the horse, please, allow me."

With a flourish of his wrist and the snap of his fingers, the air around us began to swirl into his hand. It was a moment of pure terror, but it came and went so quickly that I was only able to process what happened after it ended.

Where once was one horse, now stood three.

"And while I did wish to skip pleasantries, I suppose it necessary to introduce myself. I am Skalos, a flesh golem crafted by my master. As for the travel, you need not take a single step,. If you agree to the audience, I have an item that would allow you two to speak with him at this very instant."

He brought his hand up, the same one he used to do whatever that magic was, and showed us a small, beautiful, wooden box with swirling patterns inlaid with silver. It was actually about the size of a box for a marriage propo-_woah woah hold on there pleasegetoffyourkneesthisisuncomfortable_! Ah good, please keep staring at the floor…

Also, flesh golem?

"My master is powerful and generous. The most capable healer in the northern regions. The Unyielding March are his followers who travel across the continent to spread his knowledge through searing desert and stormy sea."

He looked back up, burning holes into me with his eyes.

Heh, woah. This is a bit -well. It's a bit much, right? I'm feeling a bit hot for some reason? Weird.

"I implore you, Yui Yuigahama, accept this invitation. For my master to personally send me, it must be of great importance to him."

"Fine! Ok fine! Get up and just do whatever!"

"Very well. Please, come close."

"Also, it's Sir Yuigahama to you! Don't get, like, weird with my full name!"

Garrus gave me an odd look as we got within arms reach or Skalos. Whatever. I'll just be happy that Alma's dead hungover inside. That's right, happy! That's what I am. Happy, composed, totally unflustered.

Or not. I can't deny that I felt a rising wave of something in the back of my throat. A feeling that something was wrong about the way the light danced around Skalos. Dammit, it's probably some kind of magic spell that he used on me to get me all flustered. That totally exists, I'm sure of it.

I tried to swallow the feeling away, but the feeling of dread didn't go away. I felt it rise higher and higher, twisting and writhing agonizingly slowly up my throat.

Behind me, I heard something fall with a heavy thud. Garrus.

I spun around, but my leg gave way as I felt my head spinning through the air. Pain shot up my knee as I collapsed on it. The sudden motion worsened my dizziness and I clutched my head fruitlessly.

In my throat, the feeling, no, the _Thing_ crawled its way out.

Its legs, thousands of sharp, needlelike things, stabbed into me as it rhythmically inched its way onto my tongue.

Retching. Strangled sobs that had to be my own.

Sickly green antenna worming its way out of my mouth.

Something grabbed my arm and held me tightly before I could tear the fucking thing out.

All I could do was watch.

Watch as Garrus's struggling go still.

Watch as Skalos melted into darkness.

Watch as a monster crawl its way out of me.

* * *

A warm, hazy feeling was spreading its way through my body. Like when you burrito wrap yourself in a cold room.

"I told you to prepare them beforehand for the travel. Yet here you bring them to me unconscious due to fear and pain."

Nice and pleasant. That's how I was feeling.

"I'm sorry, master. I thought I had prepared them adequately."

It's like I was back in the clubroom drinking Yukinon's tea.

"Hmm. I suppose few are hardy enough to experience this mode of transport without these theatrics. Nevertheless, this one should be more than capable of sitting up. Come now, on your feet."

Heh. Dream's over, back to reality now. My face was pressed up against a cold stone brick floor and my body was still twisted from…whatever. I pushed myself up, against what felt like a heavy stone pressing down on me.

"_You._" I staggered back up. A shady figure dimly lit by torches stood from a distance.

"Splendid. Still yourself for a moment, this should help manage the shakiness."

I jumped as ice water was dumped on my back. I fumbled for the back of my tunic, but I only touched dry fabric. My wobbly legs did go away, but seriously? Magic sucks.

"Now then, before the other wakes. You are Yui Yuigahama, yes?"

"Yeah?" My full name? No dammit, focus Yui! I scrunched my hands into fists and tried to focus on the pain in my palms. I am not letting this jerk dictate this whole conversation! "And you're the je-"

"Searching for your two friends, Yukino Yukinoshita and Hachiman Hikigaya?"

Huh? How did h-

"How did I know about those two?" Dark brown eyes rolled in sunken sockets. "Magic. Now then to business. Work for me and I shall help you find them. Finish, and I will bring them to you. Or bring you to them if such is your preference. I believe these are agreeable terms."

"Wait! Too fast too fast!. Slow down. Everything's going way too fast. The last thing that happened, a centipede crawled out of my mouth!" I balled a hand to my chest. "The hell was that all about! And just before that, Skalos was singing his praises about you! You might be some great, powerful wizard or whatever, but I still don't know if what he said about your generosity was true."

"Feel free to take your time processing what's happened. However you are on a time limit. It is to my understanding that people such as yourself would prefer to keep their origins a tightly kept secret for heaven knows what reasons."

Eh? People like me?

"I am giving you time to process. Not time to ask me inane questions about irrelevant material."

"Are you seriously a mindreader or something?!"

He gave me an oddly pitying look.

"You speak your thoughts out loud. Did you not know this?"

"..."

"..."

"I thought you weren't answering my 'inane questions'?"

Ohoho, he really didn't like that. His glare honestly kinda warms my heart. I stuck my tongue out at him. Good, you hate that even more.

"If you could, do stop acting like a child. I will answer any questions that you have about my proposal."

Ugh, proposal. I don't think I could handle it if anybody ever got on their knees with a box in hand ever again. Whatever, now that I had time to think, it should be easier to figure out his deal.

Saranto looked middle aged and what I think passed as Greek. His oval face was shadowed by a stubbly, dark black beard. Thick eyelashes that were pressing themselves together and baggy eyes made him look super tired. He definitely didn't have the same raw... charm that Skalos had. A simple cloth robe and a hood hid his body, but he kept his hands weaved together in front of him. Glittering in the flickering candlelight were rings upon bracelets, upon bangles, upon chains, jeez do mages really need that much swag?

He stood around ten feet away, just at the edge of talking range. He was holding his arms across his chest, and he was trying to keep a scowl from crossing his face. It was a good effort, but there's no way I wouldn't notice a little detail like that you know~~.

I tapped the tip of my boot against the stone floor to test for echoes. None came, so I guess the corners of the room, actually probably most of the room, were just too dark to see.

Oh my god, Garrus! I don't see him eith- oh. He was on his back and breathing long and steady breaths.

"How come he isn't awake yet?"

"As I told you, I wanted to afford you the opportunity to keep your origins a secret. I have not accelerated his recovery as I did with you. However, I make no promises regarding his recovery due to innate constitution."

"So he's fine then. You know, you still haven't actually explained what that whole thing was, by the way." I stressed out the last three words to measure his reaction.

Surprisingly, he looked away, embarrassed. He turned and grabbed something on the table behind him.

"This here," he held up the wooden box that Skalos showed us, "It's a magical device I made to transport a person's consciousness temporarily. The Syneídisi centipede captures an individual's consciousness and burrows its way into the ground. They have been enchanted to travel through shadow and can thus make their way to me."

He set the box down and pulled out two glass jars. I looked away, cause I'm pretty sure I already know what was in them.

"As you know," his mouth twisted into an apologetic grimace, "-this process is an extremely disconcerting experience. Thankfully, the return process should not be as extreme. All that would need to be done is release the Syneídisi and you'll find yourself back in your body."

"But if I'm supposed to have been captured by that bug, how come I'm right here?"

With a light wave of his hand he said, "Your soul is released. To return you, it would recapture it and return to your body. However, with me being present I can make the process significantly less traumatic."

He glanced at my suspicious look and continued. "That is to say, I can make sure you're asleep. I had instructed Skalos to prepare you, but it seems that the flesh golem did not think about how it would feel. I apologize for my shortsightedness."

"Yeah, words are cheap," I scoffed at him even though it seemed like he was actually apologizing. "And what exactly did you need me for that made you find me on such short notice?"

Weird. He looked surprised. Was what I said that surprising? He looked like he hadn't slept for days. He didn't know I was traveling with two other people. The person he sent to find us was outright telling us that it was important and trying to hurry the conversation along. Don't tell me it's because he thought I couldn't think about things. Why does everybody think I'm so ditzy!?

"I will not tell you of the job until you agree to it."

Tch. Of course.

"However, do consider that part of the deal is that you will be rewarded with information and the help of me and my followers as you perform your duties. If at any point you feel the desire to leave, you may take what you've learned and continue on your own."

Hmm. Ignoring how closed off he was being, because of course he'd close himself off, he gave off the same air of competency that Hikki and Yukinon gave. That regardless of how he acted, how he spoke, he wasn't trying to lie and hurt you.

Or maybe I'm just believing what I what I want to believe. I can't lie to myself. Hearing that he'll help me look for them? That he knows who they are, how important they are to me?

"Fine. It's a deal."

* * *

The scent of musty tomes pervaded the room. Footsteps echoed against bookshelves that stretched towards the heavens, bouncing off of leatherbound spines, of ancient petrified wood. How long would they last in this library frozen in time? Are the steps I hear my own, or am I hearing the echoes of those long since passed?

These thoughts were worthless, idle musings. These feelings were worse than useless, a hindrance. Somewhere within the walls of this arcane academy are my answers, that is the entirety of my concern.

I brushed a hand through my long, black hair.

Whoever brought me here will regret stealing me away. The world will learn to move to Yukinoshita Yukino.

* * *

Once upon a time, in a land far far away, a misanthropic, lonely teen railed against the idea of changing himself. That to change was to admit defeat. A deception against oneself.

That kid was an idiot. A nincompoop. And yeah, you asshole, you already know what the last word is too. Don't rub it in.

Change is inevitable, inconvenient, and occasionally even necessary.

That's it! I swear off the self-sacrifice. No longer will I burn myself to keep other people wrapped in warm lies. Instead, I am going to burn all you bastards into the ground in deference to the local fire god and take your possessions so that I can enjoy roasted fish and grilled steaks!

Hell, I might even consider myself a saint for doing this in a city of thieves.

* * *

**AN: Honestly, this was just supposed to be a fun oneshot to ease me back into writing. Now it reads like the start of a whole story to me.  
**

**There's no direction from here, no plan for where the story goes. All I know is that the story will be similar to my Shadowrun/Oregairu crossover in respects to the POV switching. Which, by the way, is still definitely gonna be finished one day. **

**Please critique me for any bits you find confusing, I'm no Zaimokuza. I struggle trying to find ways to describe feelings and observations with what I feel is Yuigahama's voice and sometimes details that I have in my mind slip from me in writing. Also, please point out any boring grammatical errors. **

**Cheers.**


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